Eurovision Cupcakes

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It's that time of year again, Eurovision! I love Eurovision, I watch it every year. And it's a perfect excuse to get in the kitchen and do some baking.

Cupcakes are excellent for parties and you can decorate them any way you want. In this recipe we will be decorating them with the flags of the Eurovision countries. Or alternatively you can just write the name of the country with some icing on top of the butter cream.

First you'll have to make the cupcakes. They can be made up to 2 days in advance before the actual day you need them. So if you're planing a party for Saturday for the final, then you can bake the cupcakes on Thursday and put them in a sealed container to keep them fresh.

Then on Saturday you can focus on the decorations, which can be a bit time consuming. So best to make the cupcakes a few days in advance

and then you don't have to worry about it.

Cupcake recipe

Prep time: 20 mins Serves: 24 Cooking Time: 17-20 mins

Ingredients:

250g Softened Unsalted Butter

250g Caster Sugar

250g Self Raising Flour

4 Large Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Butter cream:

125g Softened Unsalted Butter

250g Icing Sugar

1 tbsp Vanilla Essence

Instructions:

Set the oven to 160-170 degrees on the fan setting. Line two cupcake trays with cupcake cases.
Whisk the butter and caster sugar until it looks light and fluffy. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix until everything is well mixed, make sure there are no flour lumps. If your flour is a bit older then you need to sift it first.
Fill the cupcake cases a little bit more than half way with the cake mixture. Top tip: Use an ice cream scoop to the fill the cases, makes it so much easier and a lot less messy.
Bake the cupcakes for 17-20 mins or until golden brown. Then leave the cupcakes to cool. They need to be fully cooled before you put the butter cream on.

If you're baking the cupcakes in advance then you don't need to make the butter cream just yet. Make the butter cream on Saturday for the final. Just put the cupcakes in an air tight container after the cupcakes have cooled.

For the butter cream whisk together the butter, sugar and vanilla essence. Whisk until it looks a bit like whipped cream. This does take about 10-15 mins. The rule is, whisk longer than you think. That's a common mistake people make, the result is that the butter cream often tastes very bitter, so make sure you whisk for a long time.
Then spoon the mixture into a piping bag, use a star nozzle.
Pipe the icing over the cupcakes
Now comes the fun bit, the decorating! If you're in a hurry because you're like me and left this to the last minute, then just use the writing icing from Dr. Oetker and just write the names of the countries on the cupcakes. Or better yet, enlist the kids to help while you get on with the rest of your to-do list before the party guests arrive.
If you do have the time, then use ready to roll icing to make the flags of the countries in the final. Do a Google search for each flag so you know what to make. You will also need some extra icing sugar and a rolling pin. Put the finished flag on top of the cupcake and voila you have made your very own Eurovision cupcakes. 12 points for you!
Alternatively I found a company on Amazon who actually sell ready made flags made out of wafer paper. I used it this year and they look amazing. I hosted a semi-final get together, people thought I had bought them. So best choice ever!

Happy Eurovision day and good luck to the UK!

Baking Accessories you will need if you don't have them already:

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Wednesday, 15 May 2019